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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Crochet Fire Truck {Tutorial}

One of our little's just turned two and his mommy, Jill, threw him a fantastic Fireman themed party. You can read all about the festivities and how she brought it all together tomorrow! In keeping with the theme, I decided I would put my crochet skills to use and make him a stuffed Fire Truck. After a lot of searching for a good pattern, I found one by Melissa Harsh on Ravelry. I followed the pattern fairly closely, but definitely deviated a bit when it came to the size and embellishments added. I love how it turned out, one of my favorite crochet projects to date!

Each piece of this pattern is made individually, which is great because it helps keep everything simple. The first pieces I started with were the two truck sides. When making your sides, take the time to constantly be checking them together to make sure they are staying the same size. If you're anything like me, your gauge will change from time to time or your counts will be a bit off and there is nothing more frustrating then making two identical pieces only to find out they are not so identical...

The next piece I made was the front/middle/back/bottom or 'connecting' piece of the truck. This is the biggest continuous piece that you will make. There are some colour changes in this piece, so make sure you keep your counts consistent so the piece stays straight and the same width all the way along.

The tires were the next pieces that I tackled. These were quick and simple to make, but by the eighth tire I was ready to be finished making them. You will be making four all black tires and 4 black tires with grey centers. To give the tires some stability and strength, you sew each black tire to a grey and black tire so in the end your truck will have four double wide tires. (I didn't do this, but in hindsight it might be a neat idea to add a tiny bit of fiberfill between each tire to give it even more girth). You can do this step now, or wait until all of your pieces are made.

Making the little embellishments was the next step and was a lot of fun.

I decided that as well as the axe, ladder and siren, I would add a hose, and a bumper for the back of the truck.

Hose:

Using black yarn and an F hook, chain 50.

1. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in every ch across to end (49 sc).

2. Switch to Grey yarn, ch 3.

3. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next stitch, then ch 3 more/

4. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next ch. (this completes the end of your hose)

To make your hose nozzle, in grey, ch 5.

1. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across; ch 1 & turn. (4 sc).

2. Sc, Sc2tog, sc; ch 1 & turn (3 sc).

3. Sc2tog

Fasten off, leaving a tail to attach nozzle to hose.

Bumper

Using grey yarn and an F hook, ch as many as you need to cover across back of truck plus a little bit. (My truck was a little fat because I used fiberfill instead of foam so I chained 35).

1. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in every ch across to end.

Fasten off.

Now that you have all of your pieces made, it is time to start sewing them all together. I started by sewing the tires together and then sewing them onto each side piece. It is a good idea to reference your other side while sewing the tires on to make sure they are placed evenly.

Next, instead of stitching the middle connector together first and then attaching the sides, I decided to sew one of the side to the middle connector first. This allowed me to stretch my middle connector a bit to help fit my sides better. (Like I said before, your pieces are not always going to be perfect. That is what I love about yarn, it stretches!)

If you are using safety eyes, now is the time to place them in the windshield part of your truck.

Once this is done, sew your next side piece on. Before you finish fully sewing it on, stuff your truck with fiberfill. (In the original pattern, the truck is stuffed with foam to help retain shape, but I like the fiberfill because it gives the truck a fat, and in my opinion much cuter shape. :)) After you have stuffed your truck with fiberfill or foam, finish sewing the side piece on.

Next, you can add your embellishments onto your truck. Using your tapestry needle, sew the ladder to the top side of your truck, the siren to the top middle of your truck and the axe to one of the truck sides. If you made the extra embellishments, sew the bumper to the back of your truck and the hose onto the side opposite of the axe.

The very last thing to be done is to make your light bar and glue your felt headlights on. To make your headlights, cut two small rectangular pieces of felt and hot glue them to the front of your truck. To make the light bar, instead of using foam, like called for in the pattern, I used a little bit of cardboard folded into a rectangular shape. I then cut out pieces of red and white felt to fit the cardboard and hot glued it on. I then glued it to the top of the truck. To give my little truck a little bit of personality, I added a little crochet smile to the front. This is completely optional but I think it adds a cute little touch. :)

You are done!! It is now time to give your little fireman his brand new stuffed truck. I guarantee he will love it.﻿

Haha, that is exactly what my husband said. I was surprised he even knows who Mater is, lol (having all girls has really educated him on all of the Princesses though). Thanks so much, I love how he turned out as well.